Gambo + Ash = KTAR

[SDmbbrdm]

Think about it...

Gambo and Ash left 910 xtra a couple of weeks ago.

KTAR Sports is starts up the same time they decide to leave.

It's pretty obvious they will be on 620 shortly for oh I don't know maybe the afternoon drive that is still open...

It's too bad I was hoping Gambo would go back to New York.

 

[KeithE4]

KTAR announced it on-air a few minutes ago: Gambo & Ash start next week.

 

[Realist]

http://sports.ktar.com/?nid=46&sid=320222

Gambo & Ash Join KTAR
Sports 620 KTAR announces long-time Arizona sports talk show hosts John Gambadoro and Mark Asher join the station. Their show, from 1-6pm, begins this Friday.
January 3rd, 2007 @ 7:23am PHOENIX (January 3, 2007) - Sports 620-AM KTAR has signed former XTRA (KGME 910-AM) hosts John Gambadoro and Mark Asher (also known as "Gambo" and "Ash"), which solidifies the afternoon programming lineup for the all-new, all-sports station.
"We wanted to build a sports station that gave Valley sports fans everything they wanted. We have the signal, all of the games, the ESPN affiliation, and now with the addition of market favorites - Gambo and Ash - we have accomplished that goal," said Erik Hellum, vice president and market manager for Bonneville International.

"There are no bigger names in the Valley of the Sun in sports talk radio," said Ryan Hatch, Sports 620 KTAR program director. "Gambo and Ash are a powerhouse team who are proven headliners in the industry, and they will play a significant role in establishing KTAR as a premier sports brand."

Both hosts have a history of success as sports radio broadcasters. For the past decade, they worked as afternoon co-hosts on XTRA, KGME's highest-rated, longest-running sports talk show. Prior to this, Gambadoro, a New York native, was a sports writer at Newsday for 7 years. His counterpart, Asher, was a TV analyst for FOX Sports, pre-game host for the Phoenix Coyotes, and sideline reporter for college football games at Arizona State University.

Both hosts are enthusiastic about representing the flagship station for sports talk radio.

"KTAR's decision to offer an all-sports lineup presented a great career opportunity for me," Gambadoro said. "In particular, I am looking forward to working with a long list of talented people at KTAR."

A native of Arizona, Asher echoed his sentiment. "I am excited to join KTAR's winning team because the station has always been a part of my life. In fact, I grew to love talk radio because I used to listen to KTAR every day with my dad."

Asher later graduated from Central High School and Northern Arizona University. At the age of 25, he became one of the youngest sports talkers in the country to host a show during afternoon drive time.

KTAR's decision to hire Gambadoro and Asher finalizes the station's weekday lineup of shows. They join a talented team of veteran radio personalities who will be broadcasting at the following times:

5 - 9 a.m. The Doug and Wolf Show 9 - 11 a.m. The Herd with Colin Cowherd 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. The Dan Patrick Show 1 - 6 p.m. Gambo and Ash 6 - 9 p.m. 620 SportsLine with Dave Burns 9 - 11 pm. ESPN GameNight 11 p.m. - 4 a.m. All Night with Jason Smith 4 - 5 a.m. Mike & Mike in the Morning

On January 1, Sports 620 KTAR started offering the best local and national sports talk shows, programming and updates from ESPN Radio - every day, all day long. It is the place for listeners to hear play-by-play broadcasts of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Suns, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Arizona State University Sun Devils.

 

[brian4]

Gambo!
Ash!
KTAR!
What a surprise!

 

[KOHS]

Gambo!
Ash!
KTAR!
What a surprise!

Yeah, never would've guessed that one in a million years! What a surprise indeed.

If you're gonna have a sports parking lot, at least have good valets parking the cars!

Is it raining at your game???

 

[zumahans]

Sounds like a good move for all concerned.

Except Mono-drone 55.

 

[tfg46]

Happened to be listening last Friday when G&A re-premiered on KTAR. (Literally, happened to be listening... I was in the parking lot of the main post office on Van Buren looking at my mail when the show started. I'd forgotten that it was "the day.")

Within the first 10 minutes, Asher brought up "those people who claim we won't be critical of sports figures who need criticizing" considering how many teams, college and pro, would be having their games broadcast on the same station; though that isn't verbatim, you get the idea. He launched into an explanation of why that was "incorrect."

That was something that had been brought up more than a few times on these boards. My question is, will they be able to back it up?

So far so good, IMHO. Gambo was pretty frank about his feelings on the Randy Johnson trade, and they've both been critical of Russ Graves.

But, will they be able/be allowed to keep it up?

--CG

 

[NewtotheNasti]

Hiring Doug Franz to do mornings is all you need to know about KTAR's commitment to bringing quality sports talk to the Valley...

It was a mistake that will have to be re-evaluated again in about a year once the PD realizes that Franz (though I'm sure a nice guy by all accounts) has absolutely no "curb appeal" to listeners. A great opportunity missed and will have to be re-done to get it right...

 

[KeithE4]

Hiring Doug Franz to do mornings is all you need to know about KTAR's commitment to bringing quality sports talk to the Valley...

It was a mistake that will have to be re-evaluated again in about a year once the PD realizes that Franz (though I'm sure a nice guy by all accounts) has absolutely no "curb appeal" to listeners. A great opportunity missed and will have to be re-done to get it right...

And you'd rather see who? Yet another KT'R retread? Maybe bring Brad Cesmat back from his exile at StuffChannel 3? Move Gaydos over from the FM, or have him do double-duty like Bruce Jacobs? How about Tony Femino?

The jury's still out on Franz, although I think he's OK. What he did or didn't do in KC has nothing to do with how he'll do here. It took awhile for us to get used to those ex-Noo Yawkuhs (Spanier, Jacobs, Gambo) on KGME years ago too. It'll be the same with Franz.

 

[NewtotheNasti]

What he did or didn't do in KC has nothing to do with how he'll do here. It took awhile for us to get used to those ex-Noo Yawkuhs (Spanier, Jacobs, Gambo) on KGME years ago too. It'll be the same with Franz.

KeithE4, I really enjoy your posts, but come on, "what he did or didn't do in KC has nothing to do with what he will do here...". Huh??? This is not like Michael Jordan not making his HS basketball team or young Elvis not getting signed by a label.

Franz, despite every opportunity, had every conceivable chance to make an impact on KC radio (which has HUGE sports radio audience) and had ZERO impact. In fact, in a market where the soap opera of personnel moves in the sports talk wars is endlessly debated on web sites and in the local media, Franz's departure was met with a resounding thud.

The only logical explanation for Franz's success in Phoenix, at least to me, is that the format has been so incredibly poor that a guy like Franz can prosper ONLY because the bar has been set so low. Not being the Valley, I haven't heard Bickley's show, but I have heard Gambo & Ash and they are light years ahead of Franz (even in a poor market).

Again, I really enjoy your posts, but the only thing we have to gauge Franz is his track record--and his track record sucked (despite every possbile advantage thrown his way by Entercom.)

 

[KMGX]

It was a mistake that will have to be re-evaluated again in about a year once the PD realizes that Franz (though I'm sure a nice guy by all accounts) has absolutely no "curb appeal" to listeners. A great opportunity missed and will have to be re-done to get it right...

And you'd rather see who? Yet another KT'R retread? Maybe bring Brad Cesmat back from his exile at StuffChannel 3? Move Gaydos over from the FM, or have him do double-duty like Bruce Jacobs? How about Tony Femino?

The jury's still out on Franz, although I think he's OK. What he did or didn't do in KC has nothing to do with how he'll do here. It took awhile for us to get used to those ex-Noo Yawkuhs (Spanier, Jacobs, Gambo) on KGME years ago too. It'll be the same with Franz.

[/quote]

If you want to talk about retreads, what about ol’ “basinonian” Wolf. With any radio show you’re only as strong as your weakest partner, and he is a three time failed host/co-host in the valley. There’s only so much of that awful shtick one listener can possibly tolerate. Just about anybody else would have been a better choice to partner with Franz. KTAR missed the mark big time with the construction of this sports station. Putting on Colin Cowherd and Dan Patrick just shows a lack of creativity. They weren’t getting any ratings on 860, so now they prop up the ESPN hosts on an even bigger stage to fail upon. Cowherd is an average host while Dan Patrick is absolutely monotone and unable to show the smallest bit of criticism without tempering/qualifying it. Gambo and Ash are excellent hires, although we’ll see how much rope management gives them with the passage of time. Dave Burns, while a very nice guy (having met him before), follows the KTAR template of “Survey Radio”, where he has specific topics each segment, many of which are only moderately sports intensive. He definitely keeps any hard hitting opinions pretty quiet and is more than willing to kiss-up to the Flagship teams nicely. Therefore, I predict a colossal failure for the ratings of the morning and midday dayparts, with a stronger afternoon (especially 3-6 as I think Bruce Jacobs is significant competition as the ratings have proven in the past), and a decent evening rating as all other sports talk at that time is awful, so Dave Burns wins by default.

 

[rockjock420]

Sweet... KMGX gave us his predictions. All right!!